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So I am all signed up for my online certificate program in Project Management through UC Davis. I am still waiting for my book to be delivered to me, but so far the course looks like it should be pretty interesting. For the first “assignment,” we all had to introduce ourselves on the class forum. It looks like a fairly diverse group. Also from what it sounds like I am one of the few who doesn’t have much experience in actual project management. That could also be because I am probably the youngest one in the class. That is fine by me though.

The syllabus looks pretty straight forward. 10% participation, 40% homework, and 50% for the final. One nice thing about the final is that it is open book, open note. Sometimes that works against you though, because the test is made 10x harder because of this. I think that I should fare fairly well in this class as long as I can stay on top of things. One interesting thing about the format of the class is that it is self paced. Therefore, it is plausible that classmates could all be at totally different parts of the class at different times. I think that this may provide some confusion to the message board, but I’m sure we will be able to sift through it.

I think this course will start to come together a little bit more once I get my textbook. I will write more once it comes in and I get a chance to look at it.

Tonight I decided to go ahead and sign up for online classes through UC Davis. I am going to be doing a certificate program through the university. The certificate program that I am doing is project management. I think that this certificate should help me advance my career. I think these types of classes are typically included in the MBA curriculum. I don’t think I am quite ready to pursue an MBA just yet. The other nice thing is that my employer is going to pay for the majority of it. Starting after this quarter I will be eligible to receive $2,000 in reimbursements each year. At the completion of the courses I should be able to sit for the PMP certificate examination.

Here are the main objectives of the program:

• Prepare for the Project Management Institute’s Project Management Professional Certification Examination
• Understand the fundamental concepts and theory of project management
• Analyze projects for cost, time, scope, risk and quality
• Understand how to utilize the control elements common to all projects you manage for maximum results
• Apply quality management methods to effectively organize staff and lead a successful project team

To me this seems like it will all be applicable in the workplace as I start to get more and more responsibilities. I plan on periodically making entries about my experience in this program.

I think that the whole online learning experience should be interesting. I really don’t know exactly how everything is going to work. I would imagine that the majority would be book based with online quizzes and papers. Although online education may seem a bit odd, I value the amount of flexibility that it will be able to provide me. I also think that a certificate through UC Davis will be much more valuable than something through the University of Phoenix or some other commercial venture. Did you know that the University of Phoenix is a publicly traded company? Something about getting an education from a company with profit in mind doesn’t quite rub me the right way. Maybe I am just overly skeptical.

Assuming I take one class each quarter, the whole program should take two years to complete. In that time I should be able to give a very accurate portrayal of how the program works. Hopefully this will inspire others to follow the same path as me. Here is a link to the program. The first course cost $650 to enroll. It is normally $600, but I signed up late. My books for the course are going to run me about $28 with shipping.

Stay tuned for more updates on how this exciting venture goes!